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Wow! 16 Yards is a LOT of Fabric...

The 1.9 sil I ordered from Rockywoods arrived yesterday, and I just got around to unfurling it to lay mark out the pattern for my Hex Cat tarp. Looks good, except "foliage green" is a lot darker than their page described. I don't really care since it's still green, but I did have to get matching thread (which is really difficult, being red-green colorblind )

I think I'll be completing this project pretty quickly, since my whole apartment is now invovled I'll be tiptoeing around the perimeter of my living room for the time being, though. Hopefully I'll finish sewing the first tarp in a couple days, and the second even faster (and hopefully better).

I found a wall long enough to hang fabric to mark the longest (5') cat-cut, and I'll buy a chalk-line to "rough out" the general polygon tomorrow. Are they any other tools I should pick up before diving in (yes, I have scissors )?

The sil I ordered is 61" across (close enough for the hex-cat plan, which calls for 62"), where do ya'll go to get stuff wider than that? I didn't find sil (or any ripstop) anywhere over 60" wide besides Rockywoods.

+1 on the Chalkline. I was making an under quilt (well attempting to) this weekend. After sharpening my marking pencil the 5th time in only three lines, my pea brain thought of the chalkline. And I would recommend looking for the chalk that is not WATERPROOF. The waterproof does wipe off of DWR or silnylon but it will stick to everything else and is a small pain to get cleaned up.

Now, when you (all) say "sew the ridgeline first" do you mean to sew the two halves together before cutting the profiles, or just before hemming the edges?

I'll probably do the former (it's just as easy to join uncut pieces as cut ones along a straight seam), but I'm curious. I assume hemming first will distort everything pretty badly due to the curves, making a straight-sewn ridgeline impossible.

Is there any benefit to sewing long seams like the ridgeline in "stages" where the thread is backstitched and cut periodically? Or is it stronger to run a single stitch the whole length?

Lastly, is there any benefit from reinforcing the main seam with a layer of tougher-wearing cloth? Or do these tarps tend to wear out at the attachment points before the ridgeline area?

Is there any advantage to binding the edges as opposed to rolling them (other than cosmetic)?

TCB

***UPDATE***
First stich up the middle is in the can; not bad at all. So far so good . I will say the chalk line was extremely helpful, I'd rank it as a necessity in the process, to be honest. Tomorrow I'll finish the profile cuts with the tarp folded, then complete the felled seam.
***UPDATE***
Felled seam is complete, turned out very straight Needle wandered off the "fell" since I was stitching right on the edge and I had two re-stich about 1/4" (big deal )

{...}The sil I ordered is 61" across (close enough for the hex-cat plan, which calls for 62"), where do ya'll go to get stuff wider than that? I didn't find sil (or any ripstop) anywhere over 60" wide besides Rockywoods{...}

DIYGearSupply.com has some that goes up to 66" if you're willing to go for 2nds

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